House Speaker Joe Straus has been less vociferous. “This isn’t the most urgent concern,” the San Antonio Republican told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith in an interview last month, deferring to the 150 members of the chamber he leads.

Gov. Greg Abbott, the former judge and attorney general, takes a more considered approach. “I want to pull out the law books and look into the laws we have on the books and see what modifications need to be made," he said during a briefing with reporters this month.

Often called “The Big Three,” the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker — all Republicans — wield considerable power in determining which bills become law and which ones meet the round file during the 140-day legislative session. What gets done during the session and how much political rancor fills the Capitol hallways depend largely on their ability to work together — or in opposition to one another — despite their different personalities.

“I don’t see these personalities locking horns,” said Bill Miller, a longtime Republican consultant in Austin. But that doesn’t mean they’ll agree on all the issues or how to approach them. “I do see them measuring the fullness of their opposition and the effort behind it,” he said.

"I don't see these personalities locking horns," said Bill Miller, a longtime Republican consultant in Austin. "I do see them measuring the fullness of their opposition and the effort behind it."

In some ways, the power dynamic at play under the dome this year is a return to what was typical before Gov. Rick Perry’s lengthy tenure and political power stockpiling. Before Perry’s ascension to the Governor’s Mansion, lieutenant governors were often the strong men in Texas government. Think Bob Bullock, who held the job from 1991 to 1999, controlling the Senate chamber with a potent mix of fear and extreme efficiency that made his office the most powerful of the big three. And Bill Hobby Jr., who amassed power in that position for an unprecedented 18 years.

This session will be only the second for Patrick as lieutenant governor, but many see the former radio shock jockey as an astute politician who uses both the headlines and support from other tea party Republicans in the Senate to accomplish his agenda.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he was thrilled at the prospect of fewer federal regulations from a Trump presidential administration.

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(Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

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“Dan Patrick has certainly asserted himself as lieutenant governor,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. “And he’s done so with the asset of a very ideological bloc of support in the Senate.”

Shortly after proudly stumping for President-elect Donald Trump, and months ahead of the legislative session, Patrick began issuing news releases outlining dozens of priorities. His goals include instituting the transgender bathroom ban, implementing a school voucher system and issuing more protective gear to police officers.

The 2017 session will be No. 5 at the dais for Straus, who works more quietly than Patrick, but political experts say his behind-the-scenes maneuvering is just as effective. Unlike Patrick, whose constituency is the entire state of Texas, Straus must answer to the 150 members of the chamber who elect him as their leader every two years.

The San Antonio Republican hasn’t blasted out a list of goals, instead deferring to the priorities of House members whose votes keep him in office. Still, political observers expect to see a more emboldened Straus this year.

Joe Straus, shown moments after his re-election as speaker of the Texas House in 2015.

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(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)

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Straus and most of his allies survived primary election challenges this year from hard-right Republicans who align more with Patrick and consider the speaker too moderate. House incumbents, including Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, fought off attackers who said they didn’t do enough during the 2015 legislative session to ensure the passage of conservative hot-button measures, such as a ban on “sanctuary cities” that provide safe haven for undocumented immigrants.

Much like Patrick’s proposed transgender bathroom ban, the sanctuary cities ban bill was one that businesses generally opposed, arguing it would hurt the economy, but that the GOP faithful considered critical for public safety. Votes on those bills are tough for Republicans who can’t afford to alienate the businesses that fund their campaigns but don’t want to anger primary voters whom they need at the ballot box.

When Straus said the bathrooms bill isn’t a priority for him, the message for Patrick and the Senate was implicit, said UT’s Henson: The House isn’t going to take the fall on divisive issues this time around.

“They’re sending out signals, and everybody’s trying to plot out their chess moves,” Henson said.

Abbott, despite occupying the top office in state politics, has been relatively quiet about his legislative agenda. He’s said he wants the ban on sanctuary cities to finally pass, and he is all-in for a proposed convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution to reduce federal power. But on issues like transgender bathrooms and school funding, he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott talks about the upcoming legislative session with reporters at the Capitol in Austin on Dec. 13, 2016.

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(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)

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“Abbott is more of a Texas Republican centrist than Patrick is, and he’s certainly less bombastic in his rhetoric,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University.

Like he did in 2015, experts predict Abbott will position himself on the sidelines, letting lawmakers do their work and responding with the deliberate consideration expected from a judge and lawyer.

All of state lawmakers’ actions at the Capitol, though, will be clouded by two key questions: How much money do they have to work with? And how will the new administration in Washington make good on Trump’s campaign promises?

Lawmakers are expected to face at least a modest shortfall in the two-year state budget, making questions about funding Texas schools, cutting property taxes and dealing with crises in Child Protective Services even more difficult.

Whether Trump reverses an Obama administration order requiring schools to let children use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity could determine whether Texas lawmakers wade into that fraught discussion. And whether the president-elect fulfills his anti-immigration campaign promises could make the difference in debates over sanctuary cities and how much the state should continue spending to secure the Texas-Mexico border.

No matter the fights that ensue behind the scenes, though, Miller said to expect to see a pleasant veneer among the Big Three in 2017.

“They will be polite, self-effacing,” he said. “The process underneath may be not quite as friendly.”